Health Benefits of a Dry Sauna

Saunas while often thought of only as a steam room come in a dry heat variety as well. The dry sauna uses a different heater then a wet sauna to produce it's extreme heat and warm the skin and our bodies. While the health benefits are similar it's thought that a dry sauna produces these effects much quicker then a steam room. While the heat in a steam room is produced primarily from the water that is poured over the sauna rocks the heat produced from a dry sauna heater heats the skin quicker. Allowing us to sweat and also cool our skin at the same time.

Sweating rids body of toxins

Sweating is beneficial for our health. It's not known by all but up to 30% of toxins are released through our skin when sweating. If we increase the rate of sweating (thought to be almost a pint per hour when in a sauna) we rid our bodies of more toxins.  A dry sauna heats our skin directly not with steam and humidity so we reach an increased body temperature faster. Along with the higher temperature a sauna will open the pores in our skin to allow more moisture and toxins to escape. This combined process is one of the best health benefits of a dry sauna.

Increased Blood Flow and Heart Rate

As a dry sauna increases our body temperature our heart begins to beat quicker. It varies on sauna type and the individual but we can see up to a 50-70% increase in heart rate during a sauna session. This increased heart rate also increases the volume of blood the heart pumps through our body. Aiding with the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to our organs. The organ that receives the most health benefit from this process is our skin.

Our skin receives approximately 5-10% of our over all blood flow under normal conditions, how ever when in a sauna that amount can be almost half help to rejuvenate our skin and leave it looking bright and healthy.

Infrared Dry Saunas

We've mentioned the health benefits of a dry sauna with a dry sauna heater there is an alternative. Infrared saunas provide a dry heat without actually heating the air. They allow us to begin sweating as they heat up the surface of our skin causing the release of toxins and other unwanted materials through our pores.  The interesting thing with an infrared heater is there are additional sauna health benefits we receive from the infrared energy as it penetrates our skin to our organs.

Without going into a detail discussion of the health benefits of infrared saunas it's been documented that they can help heal deep tissues, and reduce symptoms with diseases such as Lupus and Fibromyalgia.

People have their own preference as to whether they enjoy a wet or dry sauna. Both offer health benefits to the bather, and individuals might find one type of heat more bearable then the other. For many the dry heat can make it easier to breath, and be a more relaxing experience. Most home saunas being purchased today use an infrared heater providing a health benefits similar to a dry sauna our recommendation is to give both a try before you make a purchase decision on what type of sauna will provide you the most benefit.

Saunas not just for relaxing but sauna health skin benefits as well.